Catfishing

Ehsan Azad

Catfishing

                Yesterday’s news cycle was pretty boring in the sports world. Yeah Lance Armstrong was admitting to something we all know by now he did, the Cowboys were in the process of hiring a new coaching staff, the Mavs won four games in a terrible season for them, and the Rangers keep getting AARP members to their lineup. Then the biggest hoax/scandal of 2013 was unraveled to the nation surrounding the most decorated college football player in history.

                Manti Teo, the all-American linebacker out of Notre Dame, was having a storybook season that was being eaten up by the national media. He was leading a storied program to a national championship all while dealing with tragedy of epic proportions. Losing his grandmother and then losing his girlfriend six hours later was tragic for anyone to endure. The media reported emotional interviews that Manti gave describing this beautiful girl that was his love of his life. They talked on the phone for hours while she dealt with chemotherapy and she asked him to continue to play if anything happened to her. It was all too good to be true. And it was.

                Reports by the website Deadspin.com confirm that his girlfriend Lennay Kekua did not die, and in fact was a complete fabrication. Now, Manti Teo has come out and said he was duped by a cruel hoax. I’m not buying this guy’s story. The facts just don’t add up. All the evidence points out that on multiple occasions he said he met the girl and then he retracted those statements saying he never met her. Then common sense comes and says how you couldn’t meet a girl that you describe as the love of your life just once. The story just seemed too good to be true. Another rumor is that in fact Manti Teo is gay and is using the fake girlfriend to hide his sexual orientation. That could be true, but I am not going to care if that is the case. The logical answer is that Manti Teo was a part of a conspiracy to create publicity in his Heisman candidacy.

                Regardless of what happens, the truth will come out. Manti Teo will become a NFL superstar and people will forget this will happen. Enjoy the media circus for another week and we will get back to Lance Armstrong and Jerry Jones.